


The Manipulators

by PurpleDino385



Category: Original Work
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-12-15
Updated: 2020-12-17
Packaged: 2021-03-10 22:00:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 13,708
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28084332
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/PurpleDino385/pseuds/PurpleDino385
Summary: Well, this is my passion project. Please, be kind, encouraging, and supportive of this endeavour (I'm very sensitive, you know!)I'm still in the process of editing this, so nothing is set in stone. It took a lot of courage (and stupidity) to upload this here, and I sure hope that people enjoy it (or at least don't regret reading this). I'd like to express my gratitude to anyone who happens to read this or supports it. It means the world to me!
Comments: 2
Kudos: 1





	1. The Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Well, this is my passion project. Please, be kind, encouraging, and supportive of this endeavour (I'm very sensitive, you know!)  
> I'm still in the process of editing this, so nothing is set in stone. It took a lot of courage (and stupidity) to upload this here, and I sure hope that people enjoy it (or at least don't regret reading this). I'd like to express my gratitude to anyone who happens to read this or supports it. It means the world to me!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> 12-year-olds are subjected to an assessment where a small group of people out of the population are placed into different faculties which correspond into the following:  
> • Mind: People who are smart and value intelligence can manipulate the element of fire.  
> • Soul: People who are laid-back and relaxed can manipulate the element of water.  
> • Body: People who are ambitious and determined can manipulate the element of earth.  
> • Heart: People who are caring and compassionate can manipulate the element of air.  
> She meets a boy named Matthias and a boy named Ayden who seem to be opposites with one being bright and bubbly and the other being rude and arrogant. Other characters including Jayden who is a free-spirited mess, Eve who is a non-talkative lazy mess, Hikari the smart one, Celio the dependable, and others are also introduced including the two teachers, Kiyoshi and Edward, who are both irresponsible and unqualified.  
> She does the assessment and finds out that she is an unconventional candidate.

Buzz… buzz… buzz…

Seraphina groaned. Another day. Another alarm in the morning. Some days, she just wanted to sleep in and smash her alarm. She rolled over and looked at her phone. The bright light blinded her under her flat blanket. Her vision was hazy, but she made out the letters.

_GET UP! IT’S ASSESSMENT DAY! Be there by 9 am!_

Seraphina internally screeched at the top of her lungs. Eyes opened wide; her abrupt start caused birds to flee from the powerlines outside.

“I can’t be late for this! What time is it?” She rubbed her eyes clearing her vision. It was 8:55 am, and it was a ten-minute run there. She sprang out of bed rapidly changing into her clothes. The assessment day was about to commence. This was when they would be chosen to become a manipulator with powers and magic. They were called manipulators because of the way they control their elemental magic. It was a test that only told the truth with no chance of failure. She couldn’t be late. But she was. She was unsure if the right shoes were on the right feet or if her pants were on backwards, but that didn’t matter right now. Her hoodie, sweatpants, and sneakers were all she needed. She tied her hair in a ponytail, but as usual, a tuft of hair liked to stick out. Racing out the door, Seraphina bolted away and vaulted herself out of the window. She lived on the second floor of a residential building like most of the people in her city. She glanced at the ground and immediately regretted her actions. She had forgotten that there was a rose bush underneath.

“Crap. No, no, no, no, no,” she mumbled to herself. She felt the thorns stabbing in her, but she had to hurry. She leapt out at the expense of her clothing which was now slightly torn. She began running.

“This is a shortcut that should take me there slightly faster!” she thought. “I’ll be there in no—” her train of thought was interrupted by a piercing ball of filthy fluff springing onto her face. She sneezed. She felt her face grow itchy. It was a cat. She felt herself being weighed down as more and more feral cats attached themselves to her body. She was powerless against cats. Ever since a young age, she had never had a way with cats. She was always allergic, and she never found them adorable as other people did. She looked at their eyes that pierced into her soul. She laid on the ground as cats were clawing at her face. She struggled to get up. They were licking her with their sandpaper tongues trying to get the remnants of fish off her. She began to get up as the cats finished their feast. She felt some blood rolling down her cheek. She felt a warm sensation on her arms and legs. She had small cuts there as well. She sighed in agony. She dashed away. She saw the sun being blocked out for a mere moment before a shadowy figure disappeared.

“Who was that?” she thought.

She reached brighter daylight as the alleyway came to the end. She was halfway there. There was a crosswalk a block away. The walk sign turned out. She sprinted for her life. With every last breath within her, she ran. She felt her lungs burning so hard that she thought she was pant fire. The seconds were counting down, but she felt a fire from within her. One that was not from her wheezing lungs. Five more steps. Four more steps. Three more steps. Then something caught her eye. An elderly woman with a cane was struggling to carry her groceries. Seraphina felt a need to help her.

“Hello ma’am, do you need help with your groceries?” she asked politely.

“Why sure young man,” the old lady grinned and weakly gripped her hand.

 _“Young man,”_ the words kept echoing through her head. Did she really look like a young man? The lady probably just needs her eyes checked again.

“You know sonny,” she mumbled, “I just got my eyeglasses yesterday, and it helps so much! Now I can hear my husband much more clearly!”

Seraphina was a bit confused by that statement. “I look like her son…” she thought.

“I used to have a son who looked just like you,” she continued, “but he…” her speech began to taper off. She began to look confused and looked back at Sera with anger and shrieked. “Wait! Who are you? Get away you hobo! You’re not getting any of my groceries!” Without warning, the woman swung her cane across her face. The lady shuffled away as fast as she could as her slippers and cane could take her. That was going to leave a mark. She laid on the ground with her suffering and misfortune. She got up with a jolt. What just happened? That old lady must’ve forgotten everything part way through the conversation.

She felt her muscles ache. Everything went past her, and she could see the school over the horizon. At last, she was almost there. She felt success within her grasp when out of nowhere, a man came out of a bakery with bags of flour stacked so high he couldn’t see in front of his face. His legs wobbled. He could barely move, but she couldn’t stop. She tried, but inevitably crashed into the baker. Clouds of flour scattered in the air, but Seraphina herself was a cloud of flour. She could barely see in front of the white fluffy particles sprinkled in the air. She heard the man yelling, “My flour! My precious flour! You girl! Get back here and pay for this!”

“Sorry!” Seraphina yelled coughing out the dusty flavourless powder that covered her body. She could feel her lungs wheezing, but she could see it within her vision. One foot after the other, she sprinted. She climbed the steps with confidence and pride… until her foot slipped. She pummelled flying down the stairs rolling faster than how fast she could reach the top. She landed at the feet of a tall boy with bubblegum pink hair that was tied in a ponytail that flowed down his back like a waterfall. He had crystal blue eyes.

“Need a hand?” he asked offering his hand forward.

Seraphina grabbed the young man’s hand hoisting her to her clumsy feet.

“I’m Matthias,” the boy smiled offering his hand to shake.

Seraphina accepted his offer. “I’m Seraphina.” A thought struck Seraphina in the brain. “Wait… isn’t the assessment thing starting now?” she exclaimed in the midst of a panic.

“Oh!” Matthias clapped in realization, “It was postponed to 9:30. Didn’t you receive the memo?”

Seraphina reached her hands into her pockets. She dragged it out unlocking it only to discover that the message had come, but she never opened the notification. She sighed in anger and anguish.

She walked into the school with her mind somewhere else. There was barely anyone there. There were people from other classes returning for another year, but each group had fewer and fewer people. She was awoken from her deep thought when she bumped into someone.

“Watch where you’re going!” he yelled not even looking at her face.

Seraphina opened her eyes after holding them shut trying to clear her vision. Her head felt hazy. She’d only known this guy for a moment, yet his annoying personality left her irritated. She wanted to justify her actions but didn’t know-how. “Well, you should watch where you’re going too!”

“Well I can’t see you at my eye-level,” he chuckled. It was true. She was just 4’10” while he was well above 5’4”. That was well above average height.

She grunted as she got up to her feet. She had to brush this off and get along with people. “What’s your name?” She figured that it’d be best to still try to know the guy.

“Ayden Hakuryuu,” he scoffed, “how about you shorty?”

“Seraphina Konan,” she replied begrudgingly ignoring his diss.

“Well, I guess we’re both going to be classmates shrimpy.” he snobbishly smiled.

He walked into the classroom and shut the sliding door behind him. Seraphina scoffed at that last insult. What a guy. He even closed the door or her. All the first years were supposed to go in there. The room was vast. It had three levels of desks that spanned out like tables. The room was nearly empty. It seemed that only eight students were in that room, and she recognized all of them from the previous day.

An orange-haired man trudged into the room with a blue blanket draping his slouched back. The word inanimate would be an understatement to describe this man. He looked as if the last ounce of fun and love inside of his heart and souls died years or centuries ago or never even existed at all. His eyes were deadpan bromidic while his expression clearly stated he did not want to be there. Although he was a young man who appeared to be in his twenties, he looked exasperated and exhausted. He looked like he was making an effort to lift his heavy eyelids from falling asleep where he stood. His arms and legs moved lifelessly as if they were dead joints being controlled by puppet strings. He took out a box of blueberry milk taking a prolonged sip. He sucked the life out of the box desperately trying to get the last drops which made the straw sounds amplified that much more. He scrunched the box in his hand and suddenly burst into flames. This man had just broken into spontaneous combustion. Some people screamed. A red-haired girl in a patchwork dress even threw her water bottle at the man. Another man burst into the room and joined on the screaming, but his words did not match the mood of everyone else.

“Yoshi!” the man raged, “give back my blanket right now! I know you took it! I can see it on your back! And stop freaking out the new kids!”

The man extinguished his fire calming down the students. He snickered with a devilish grin, “I’m just having a little fun with them.” He tossed back the man’s blanket who caught it then wrapped it like a cape around himself. He turned to everyone sitting at the desks.

“Hello everyone! Sorry about Kiyoshi over here. Here at Atticus Academy, you can call your teachers by their first names, but don’t ever call the principal like that. You can still call me Mr. Uchiyama or this jokester Mr. Kamiya if you want, but quite frankly, he doesn’t deserve that much respect. But seriously, beware of the headmaster. She might have your head on a skewer for calling her anything but headmaster. I’m Edward by the way. I’ll be back eventually. Be nice Kiyoshi!”

“I won’t!” Kiyoshi waved sarcastically. He whispered beneath his breath, “That guy is leaving me to set up these new kids while he takes a nap. Go figure.”

“Okay shi—I mean stinkheads!” he announced. “Shut up and listen!” he continued, “We will be assessing you in multiple ways, and if everything goes right, you will be known as manipulators from tomorrow on! All of you are of twelve years of age, so I assume you are all capable and mature to some extent. There are four faculties that you may fit into.”

A board beside him lit up in vibrant red.

“The heart faculty are known for being caring and compassionate. These people possess great benevolence always helping others.”

The board switched to forest green.

“The body faculty is one that is fierce and determined. They persevere and achieve their goals! They are hard workers who possess relentless tenacity!”

The board lit up in brilliant blue.

“The soul faculty are for those who are laidback and adaptable. They can versatile and resilient. They can handle many types of environments and challenges that they set their mind too!”

The board radiated a deep purple.

“The mind faculty are for those who are intelligent and logical! They are cunning and clever! They are problem solvers and thinkers!”

“What faculty are you a part of?” Matthias asked.

“Can you start from the beginning? I wasn’t listening.” A girl with hazel hair snapped awake.

“Why do you look like you haven’t slept in five years?” Ayden asked.

“Can I go home?” A blond boy muttered.

“And why are there only eight of us here?” A red-haired girl asked.

“What’s with all these questions?!” Kiyoshi exclaimed in dismay. “I don’t get paid enough for this…” he grumbled then slammed his hands on the table in frustration. “Let’s start with you…” he looked at his papers. “Matthias, I’m in the Mind faculty. I can light you on fire if you annoy me too much. Next, Eve, was it? I’m skipping you. Ayden? I haven’t slept in eight years. No going home, Koa, and Jayden, the government had documentation for eight potential candidates so that’s what we have here. You guys also came here by choice, right?”

Everyone nodded.

“That answers everyone’s questions, so now I want everyone to introduce themselves while I do attendance. When I call your name, please say ‘present’. Don’t correct me on pronunciation. I did not get out of bed to learn the names of people I frankly don’t care about.”

“You there, pink-hair who looks happy. Stand. Give us your name, birthday, and your favourite food.”

Matthias stood up. “Hi! My name is Matthias Xander. My birthday is on May 30th. I like bubblegum and sweets!”

The boy next to him was sweating and panicking. He was muttering his info under his breath, and he could barely find the courage to stand on his two feet.

“Next! Blondy!”

He stood up but had massive stage fright as he stuttered over every word. “M-my name… my name is…”

“GET IT OUT BLONDY!” Kiyoshi scolded.

“Is Koa Danzer! My birthday is December 27th, and I… I like fish sticks and coffee cake! Not together, of course…” he began to trail off, sat down, and looked like he was about to cry.

“My name is Jayden Alphonse. I was spawned on November 9th, and I feed off energy drinks and hot cheese puffs!”

“Eve Val. October 9th. Peanut butter.” She sat down and reached into Jayden’s bag which seemed to hold a massive tub of peanut butter. She took out a spoon and began eating. People were slightly amazed about many things like how the peanut butter fit into her bag and why Eve felt the need to consume her favourite food right then and there without bread or anything else.

“Okay, let’s move on. Next!”

“I’m Celio Zaveri. My birthday is on March 13th. I like all kinds of food.”

“I’m Hikari Chiba. I was born on May 28th. I don’t favour any particular food.”

Seraphina stood up, “I’m Seraphina Konan. My birthday is January 25th, and my favourite food is mac n cheese.”

The boy next to her seemed to be despondent and reluctant to stand and introduce himself. “Ugh, Ayden Hakuryuu. January 10th. Seafood noodles.”

Edward, the teacher who’d left earlier, came back into the room with his blanket and a tomato that had bite marks in it.

“If we’re still going through introductions, I’m Edward Uchiyama. Birthday is August 16th, and I like raw tomatoes and beer! Now if you’ll excuse me…” He curled up on the floor with his blanket and resumed his nap.

“Oh right,” Kiyoshi sighed. “Kiyoshi Kamiya. Age 22. Born July 31st. I like blueberry milk.” He kicked Edward awake to his annoyance. “We will do our ‘assessment’! First, we will be interviewing each of you using a series of questions—"

“What the heck does that mean?” Ayden asked with feet on the chair in front of him. “I’m not trying to find out what type of pasta I am, I’m trying to find out which powers I’ll get! We already spent all that time introducing ourselves.”

Kiyoshi was using every fibre of his being to not hit this kid, and everyone could see the physical pain on his face from holding back. “I’m going to call you all one by one to the next room. Come when you’re called. This will take a while so make sure you have food. We’re not providing it, but there’s a vending machine on the street a block away.” He went out the door with a slam.

“Maybe you should’ve been nicer considering he’s potentially going to be our teacher.” Celio, the boy with bangs that covered his eyes brought up a good point.

One by one, each of them disappeared for about half an hour. They weren’t allowed to speak about what questions they were being asked. When it was Sera’s turn to go, she felt a bit of apprehension. She wasn’t sure what they were going to ask, or what those questions even meant.

She walked to the next room and sat across from both Kiyoshi and Edward.

“Seraphina Konan. January 25th. We have a file here of your history.” Kiyoshi slammed it on the table. He kicked Edward's foot to keep him awake.

“Adopted by a family with a dead daughter after your family passed… or were killed when you were seven. You were the lone survivor of the incident. You have your primary education, and everything checks out. Good grades, good standing, and you seem to have a good head on your shoulders, but I hear adopted families are hard on their kids. Is that the case with you?”

“Yes,” Sera responded. She’d been hit regularly and verbally abused by her adopted family. It’d become her normal even if she knew it was anything but. She counted down the days to when she turned twelve and could survive on her own.

“Tell me about your previous family. What happened to them? Tell us as much as you can. These things happen.”

Sera clenched her fists and kept her emotions from boiling over as she recounted the incident. “It was December, and I was playing with a friend that evening. I went back home to discover my house on fire. I was brought in by police and was told that everyone in my family had been murdered by rogues.”

“Okay.” Kiyoshi closed the file. It wasn’t the response she was expecting. Usually, she was told things like, “I’m sorry” or “that must’ve been hard” but there seemed to be no empathy on his face. “I will now ask you a few questions involving your personality.”

He asked a lot of personality-related questions regarding her ability to handle situations, her mood, how she handled situations and her outlook. Edward then asked her questions based on morality, her shortcomings, and her aspirations for the future. It felt almost like a job interview. Finally, they headed back.

[Whether or not I want to add anything there to elaborate on the testing will be determined at a later date.]

With everyone back in the classroom, the teachers had one final test to give before giving the students their powers. “In my hand,” he continued, “I have a rock.” The rock looked like it was made of glass, but on he fumbled it in his hands and dropped it to which the students laughed. Annoyed, he pretended as if nothing had happened.

Edward explained, “You probably know the spiel but let me run you through it again. If you get blue, you are part of the Soul faculty. If you get red, you are part of the Heart faculty. If you get green, you are part of the Body faculty. If you get purple, you are part of the Mind faculty. If you get gray, you do not possess the capability to hold these powers but be aware that if you get more than one colour, it is rare, but you can decide which of the colours you are given. There is no more than two when it happens, so do not fret. Considering the results of the test and files, I doubt anyone will get gray. Okay! Jayden, come on up.”

The girl with the patchworked dress stood up from her seat. She had some peanut butter on her freckled cheeks. She tried to pull in her legs to let her friend through but fell backwards into the chair. Her friend continued on her way down the stairs where she shook with anticipation as she was handed the rock. She held it in her hand. She turned pink in the face as she felt sweat rolling down her forehead. The rock had turned red.

“Heart faculty!”

“Hikari Chiba!” She went down the stairs and held the stone in her hand. “Mind faculty!”

“Koa Danzer!”

A tall dirty-blonde boy walked down the stairs with caution. Careful not to trip, he slowly approached the ground. He walked to the stage where his body scrunched inwards scared. Terrified of what was going to happen, he hung his head over in sorrow as if he had the foresight of the inevitable future coming for him. He was handed the rock, but his expression did not change as the rock morphed into a deep forest green colour.

“Body faculty!”

“Ayden Hakuryuu!”

The boy got up. He stood much taller than he did while sitting down, but that was probably because he slouched. His gray hair hung over one of his eyes. He seemed to go down the stairs in an instant, or at least much faster than her short legs could carry her. He was handed the rock. It seemed to take its time until it revealed a stunning blue.

“Soul faculty!”

“Eve Val!”

Her friend Jayden patted her on the shoulder to wake her up, but she didn’t stir, so she pulled out a jar of peanut butter and opened it which caused Eve to launch up. She went down the steps after she realized her name was called. After holding the stone, it turned to a sky blue.

“Soul faculty!”

“Matthias Xander!”

He skipped down the stairs excitedly and held the stone while twirling on the spot.

“Heart faculty!”

“Celio Zaveri!”

He went down the stairs and held the rock in his hand.

“Body faculty!”

He returned to his seat with a smile on his face.

“Seraphina Konan!” She got up, but she tripped on the feet of Ayden who was sitting on the edge of the row.

“Do you mind?” he hissed.

She sighed and took her steps down the stairs carefully. The rock was bestowed in her hand. She closed her eyes slowly sensing every moment. Why did she feel like she had done this before? She had never done this before. Or did she? She knew it was foreign. It had to be. She appeared in front of a house. She could feel the sand between her feet as the breeze brushed her hair. It felt so homely. The sun was warm. But out of nowhere, everything went dark. The house was engulfed in flames, but she could see people through the windows. She wanted to run towards the house. She wanted to save the people inside that house. She wanted to stop their murders. The darkness was expanded. Her body felt like it was burning, in a painful numbing sensation. She was being eaten alive. She felt like screaming, but she stood there silent in a cold sweat as she watched everything being swallowed. She couldn’t see her own limbs anymore. The pain was excruciating. Her limbs were being broken and torn off. It was dark. Nowhere to go. She had to wake up. She had to go back.

She opened her eyes and felt her ears gain their hearing. Had her ears ever lost their hearing? It seemed that the world around her stopped as soon as she closed her eyes, but the rock was knocked off her hand by Edward. Edward whispered for her to follow him into the other room. Her mind was muddled and confused, “What’s going on? Where are they taking me? What were my results?”

“Sorry, technical difficulties!” Edward grinned as he left with Sera. The classmates looked stunned and confused.

Sera sat in the classroom next door with Edward who seemed just as shaken as her. He picked up his phone and messaged someone. Within minutes, a tall woman with black hair came into the room. She looked like she was in her 50s. With a serious expression, Sera felt chills down her spine. She knew the news she was about to receive would not be good.

“Is it true?” she asked Edward.

“Without a doubt.” He nodded.

“Word will not get out about this, alright? I will explain this to Serene, my husband, and Kiyoshi. I trust that you will explain to her the truth.”

He nodded again. She left the room which left just Sera and Edward.

“The truth is,” he explained in his sullen tone, “you got all four colours: red, blue, green, and purple. We have run background checks on everyone before coming, and the test didn’t initially give off any alarming results, but the stone said otherwise. I’ve only seen this happen one other time, and he…” his voice trailed off. “You will get your powers, and it will only be from one faculty. Your test results are not to be shared. Only the headmaster, Kiyoshi, that woman, her husband, and I will know it. You are not permitted to tell anyone including your family and friends. If any word gets out about this, you will be discriminated against and persecuted, and there is nothing I can do for you, and there is nothing that anyone else can do except watch.”

She could see the pain on his face, and that added to the fear instilled in her. What was it about the four colours that would make her that much of a monster that she wouldn’t be able to exist peacefully?

“But let’s do this first,” he continued, “I am going to ask you a few more questions. When you had the test, where were you placed?”

“I don’t know. I saw a fire. A house. I wanted to help, but I couldn’t run. It suddenly became dark, then I couldn’t see anything. It was so painful. I was so scared. And I—” she started crying, “I don’t know what happened, but I don’t want it to happen again. I don’t want to feel like that again.”

Edward thought for a minute. “Thank you, Seraphina. I apologize for the formalities. What faculty do you wish to be a part of?”

“The mind faculty.”

With those words, she headed back to her classroom to which chaos ensued.

Kiyoshi had placed four large cylindrical objects on the ground. They each erupted with an element. One had a pillar of water streaming into the air. It defied gravity as it shot upward creating a fountain-like effect. There was a tornado coming from another and a sandstorm from the one on the end. Sera knew exactly which of the four she would have to face. It burst into flames just like their potential future mentor. Its purple flames shot up in the air like dozens of flame torches compressed into one object. Everyone could feel the heat from wherever they were.

“One by one,” the man monotonously explained, “you will stand on your given stone.”

“But that thing is on fire!” Koa exclaimed.

“You don’t say!” the teacher sarcastically remarked. “I will call your names one by one. You will stay on that platform you are asked to leave. It might hurt a little but deal with it. You’re all twelve-years-old now. Learn some tolerance and discipline.” The teacher tossed a piece of paper into each of the platforms, and one by one, each sheet disintegrated from their given element. He devilishly smiled knowing he was terrifying the young kids.

The kids went up one at a time despite the four platforms being there.

Jayden's frizzy red hair matched her bright red patchwork dress. Her mismatched socks were patterned with rainbows, and she had sunglasses on despite it being cold outside.

“You’re going to need to take those off,” Kiyoshi instructed.

Jayden chuckled quietly then snapped to a face colder than the dead of winter. “These don’t come off. Ever.”

The teacher shrugged as she began to step on the platform. She was part of the heart faculty. Her hair was blown, and her body resisted giving in to the raw element she was put into.

Hikari wore a fabric dress with leggings and worn out scuffed shoes. She walked into the fire and quickly exited unscathed. She gave a small smile.

Koa was the most petrified. The boy was a walking ball of anxiety. He was part of the body faculty which surprised many because he was constantly paranoid about his fears. He managed to stick through it but was covered in dirt.

Ayden scoffed as he stepped onto the platform, but his confident face couldn’t hide the fear in his eyes. His true state was made quite clear by his transparently clear face and trembling legs. He walked out acting like it was a breeze, but he was drenched.

Matthias walked into the tornado with his pink hair and a smile brighter than the stars in the dim night sky.

“What are you happy about? Did you see someone trip down the stairs or something?” the teacher asked.

“No, I’m just excited,” he answered.

The teacher looked puzzled and told him to step onto the platform with a whirling tornado. How fitting. He was part of the heart faculty.

Eve was a tall lanky girl with short messy brown hair and hazel eyes.

“Let me guess, those headphones don’t come off either,” he laughed.

She nodded.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” he scoffed.

The girl shot a glare at him.

“We’ve got a lot of weirdoes, huh?” he muttered to himself as he motioned for her to go ahead. She walked into the waves of water and came out with certain parts of her body being covered in ice.

Celio’s eyes were hidden beneath his overgrown bangs, but it didn’t seem to interfere with his sight as he stepped into the sandstorm. He came out covered in chunkier dirt.

Sera was the last one up.

She could already hear the flames hissing at her. It was almost as if they were inviting her to play. She stood in the heat of the flames, yet she felt no pain. Some of the crackles started to remind her of campfires that she and her family used to have during the summer while others reminded her of the sound of popping popcorn over the stove. But soon the fire turned to demons.

“You don’t belong here,” said the flames. It seemed that it only spoke in her mind. It had several different voices like a hellish choir. “You are not a normal child. What makes you believe that you are of the mind faculty?”

“I believe in intelligence and strength in knowledge!” Seraphina shouted in her mind. She felt a burn on her right forearm.

“Lies! Your ambition, kindness, and adaptability make it unclear where you belong.”

“I chose the mind faculty,” she said.

The flames stopped whispering for a moment before scorching her left shoulder.

“The creator of the mind faculty held knowledge above all. They chose to create this academy with their peers in order to create a world where all communities could unite without betraying one another. This faculty is known for its intelligence with this stone containing the mind of the founder, yet we cannot see inside your minds for no one has the ability to. Every human mind is different. Some people’s minds are open containing such potential while others are closed with wisdom beyond your year. Explain to us what you possess. Explain why we should accept you.”

“I don’t know.”

“What makes you different from the others?”

“I don’t know.”

“Why would we take someone like you in?”

“I don’t know.”

“What do you know child?”

“I don’t know! I don’t know who I am yet! We spend our lives discovering and creating who we are! I’m only twelve, but I know that I can be laidback, lazy, and tired yet stubborn and headstrong. I believe in loyalty and kindness. I am stuck on what I believe and will always try to do what’s right even if it costs me my life because that’s the person that I am! I was brought up like this! I believe that I can become the person that I want to be even if I don’t know what or who that person is! I am flawed. I am adamant. I feel envy. I am lazy. I am abstract. I am awkward. I am ignorant to people and their feelings sometimes. But I’m also witty, innovative, tenacious, and… yeah, people can fit into more than one category! I am who I am!”

The flames were apprehensive. Hesitating, they chuckled, but their laughs were lined with nervousness, “We haven’t had a case like you in a very long time. You are truly a special child. We come across many children. Some of them are, as you said, ‘fit into more than one category or faculty’, but some are easy to read like books while some still have so many choices and roads for becoming who they want to be. Even though you the traits of the other faculties, we will bestow you with the power of fire.”

The flames extinguished into violet haze and smoke. Seraphina had a driven sparkle in her eyes. She felt so much power in just the palms of her hands ready to unleash her newfound energy and force.

It turned out that barely any time had passed since she stepped to the platform yet so much had changed. Did everyone else experience the same sensation and process that she had?


	2. Training Montage & Ice Cream

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Nothing really happens here. In order to get their newfound powers, students must take part in a hellish rite of passage. Afterwards, the students get ice cream and have some bonding time.

The next day, Seraphina walked into her classroom. There were two men standing at the front with a woman in the center. She was wearing a white formal top with a long black skirt that went down past her knees. She wore beige flats, and although she stood taller than Seraphina, she appeared to be about 5’4”. Seraphina rushed to her feet with moments to spare as the woman raised her hand and silence fell upon the classroom in an instant.

“I am the headmaster of Atticus Academy. You will address me as headmaster. Today, you will start your training as manipulators. This week, you will learn the basics of being a manipulator as taught by these two incompetent nincompoops. I ask that you please treat them with respect and listen to them as they are your mentors. The training will be quite rigorous. Please note that if you give up, you will be given the option of dropping out. If you give up more than twice, you will be forcibly expelled. That is all.” She turned to exit the room and slammed the door behind her.

“Your cousin is crazy,” Edward nudged Kiyoshi.

He let out a faint concerned laugh, “I know. Imagine growing up with someone like that.”

Edward began to usher the class of eight outside where they would begin training. They had a huge open field out in the back. The wind rustled through the tall oak trees that surrounded the area. They both had devilish smiles plastered on their faces which made for a weary atmosphere and a skittish feeling in Seraphina’s gut.

“We are going to start off with some simple training exercises. One-hundred push-ups, one-hundred sit-ups, one-hundred squats, ten-kilometre run, then some stretching.”

“What?!” the class exclaimed.

“We aren’t some anime god-like superhero!” Ayden cried.

“We’re going to be broken before we can control our powers!” Jayden complained.

“But that’s exactly why _you are_ doing it!” Kiyoshi explained, “it’s so that your body won’t extinguish or break under the powers that have been given to you!”

Seraphina sat there in pure shock and anguish. She flashed back to a time where she had tried to do push-ups.

Her breath felt like it was being grabbed from her burning lungs. Sweat rolled down her cheeks.

“Calm down!” Kiyoshi threw a tomato at Koa knocking him flat on the ground.

“Where did you get that tomato from?” asked Edward.

“Oh, the staff room fridge.”

There was a moment’s pause.

“That’s my tomato! I was going to have it for lunch later!”

Kiyoshi shrugged. “Kids, you cannot give up this easily. If you do, you do not deserve to call yourselves manipulators. We are going to start in a few minutes, so if you want to cry and run home to your mommy and daddy, go ahead. This will be our new normal, so don’t even try slacking off. Now, who’s ready?”

The group was silent and stagnant. No one moved or cheered to what he believed was a motivational speech.

“Get to work you buffoons before I start lighting you on fire one by one!”

Everyone scrambled to find a spot. Seraphina threw her hoodie on the ground causing a puff of dust on the barren land. She got into a position and started. The first ten were no problem. When she reached twenty, she felt sweaty accumulating; by thirty, the sweat was dropping off her face. Forty made her arms feel both numb and pain. Fifty made her mind hazy. Sixty made her full of rage. Why weren’t her arms moving the same way? By seventy, she felt as if she couldn’t do anymore. Eighty made her arms feel like they were going to fall off. Ninety made her life flash by her eyes as all the air left her body until she reached the destined one hundred. She couldn’t take anymore. She landed on her stomach with her mind in a haze. The girl next to her was wearing sunglasses on her face, but even those were clouded with condensation and moisture from the sweat. She tempted to shoot finger-gun her frail arms dropped. Everyone had seemed half-dead.

“Now for sit-ups! Get to it!” Kiyoshi commanded. Edward disappeared onto a patch of grass in the distance where he was presumably taking a nap.

The sit-ups were excruciating. She felt as if her guts were being ripped out. She felt pain rattle down her spine. She felt agony rush to her head that was not letting go of the dizziness it was encapsulated by. She felt discomfort in muscles she didn’t even know she had. As if someone was pulling and smashing her legs and muscles to pieces, like pulling muscle off one’s flesh, but eventually, she could not feel her legs or her arms. She dropped by the end. She pushed herself off the ground with her dead arms. They ached. They screamed in pain, but she had to keep going. She couldn’t just give up.

It was just a run. That’s all she had left. Just ten kilometres. She felt as if her legs couldn’t carry her, but she kept running around the dusty oval they called a track. She coughed as she felt her lungs gasp for air to extinguish the uncontrollable flames from within her. Her body screamed to stop, but she wouldn’t. Her legs gave out. Collapsing to her knees along with the rest of her remaining classmates, she heaved and wheezed with pride. She dreaded the same activity for tomorrow, but she lived in the moment for that second. She felt the sweat layers encasing her body. All eight of them had survived. They laughed as they were all exhausted. Edward got up from the dirty track brushing himself off. Kiyoshi began to slowly clap walking up to the sweaty victors nearly dying of overexertion.

“Congrats! You passed! How do you all feel now?”

“Dead,” Ayden coughed.

“Lifeless,” Seraphina wheezed out.

“Good because tomorrow, you are doing it again plus more fun stuff!”

Everyone glanced at each other nearly passing out where some sat, and others stood. They didn’t know whether the man meant legitimate fun or unbearable suffering which to them meant either life or death. Everyone got off the ground barely alive to go home.

“Wow, the group is so small this year!” Kiyoshi chuckled, “well I guess that’s because of the fact that the testing group itself was so small.”

Why had it been so small? Seraphina thought to herself.

“Well, usually we don’t handle the testing,” Edward remarked.

“Yeah, it’s our first year providing the testing,” Kiyoshi continued, “we were supposed to begin teaching last year—"

“But we were kicked out of each of them after one day because of our ways of teaching.” Edward interrupted.

Every student thought the exact same thing, “You don’t say…”

Kiyoshi cleared his throat and spoke clearly at the top of his lungs which wasn’t needed since there were only eight of them left. “Okay class! Make sure to stretch! When I call your name, say here! Introduce yourself and your faculty. This is the only resulting class from this year, so these people will be your classmates most likely for a long time! Unless one of you dies or something, that’s not in my control. Anyhow, roll call.” He snapped his fingers and pointed to Edward.

“I don’t have the attendance list! I thought you had it!”

“No, that was your only responsibility, Edward!”

“Never mind then! Just introduce yourselves again along with your faculty!”

“I’m Matthias, and I’m part of the Heart faculty!” His hair was originally in a ponytail but was now frayed and all over his face. His pink hair cascaded down his back, and his face was smiling through the sweat which was impressive.

“Ayden. Soul faculty.” Although he acted tough, you could see his legs shaking from all the exercise. Even though he was fast, his endurance was slightly below average. He wasn’t nearly as strong as he acted either.

The girl with sunglasses grinned widely, “I’m Jayden, and I almost died today. But Heart faculty for the win!” All throughout the exercises, everyone could see that Jayden had a very difficult time even compared to her peers. She was relatively bulky in stature and had shorter legs making her slower at running than her friend. Still, nobody knew what she looked like without her sunglasses.

“Jayden this isn’t a competition,” the girl with hazel eyes sighed, “I’m Eve, Soul faculty.” Although she was trying to slack off when the teachers weren’t looking, Eve still did give effort even if it meant minimally. She never went down all the way for her push-ups, but she was a fast runner thanks to her tall and lean stature.

Edward pointed to a short boy who was trembling. “Koa… body faculty,” he stuttered. Very muscular in build, Koa had a lot of strength and endurance but lacked in terms of flexibility.

“Hikari. Mind faculty,” the petite girl with black hair said. She was very short and skinny in stature, and she wasn’t that great at endurance, but she was fast and resilient.

“Celio,” he introduced, “Body faculty.” Although not as stalky as Koa, he also had a strong build. He was tall with bangs covering his eyes. He was relatively fast and strong with good endurance as well, but his flexibility was slightly below average. 

Sera hated introducing herself, but she doubted a lot of the people did too. “Seraphina. Mind faculty.”

After stretching and wrapping things up, Matthias looked at everyone who’d seemed to be unmotivated and down after realizing that they were not fit enough to take on their futures yet.

“Hey guys! Wanna go for ice cream?” he called to the seven zombified pieces of flesh. They each turned around with little life in their eyes.

“I dunno…” Koa stammered.

“Oh, come on man!” Matthias chattered, “I’m inviting everyone! Scoops on me!”

“Well I’m going,” Ayden cheered, “Free food is good food!”

“Same,” Jayden agreed.

Eve nodded.

Hikari smiled, “Sure, why not. I think after that we deserve something.”

“Yeah, I’m down if everyone else is then,” Celio spoke.

“I’m totally down for ice cream!” Seraphina exclaimed with excitement. She knew that her parents would never treat her to the frozen delicacy.

Everyone waited for the last one to change their mind.

“I guess I’ll go then!” Koa decided.

Everyone cheered slowly trudging across the track. They made it slowly down the hill onto the street when out of nowhere a car swerved across the road. Ayden was within the line of range when Seraphina shoved him to the side into a mowed grass pile. The car toppled over trash cans sending them flying. The massive car rolled down its tinted windows. Those voices sounded familiar.

“Get in losers, we’re—"

“Why did you wake me up with your reckless driving!?” Edward shouted.

“Shut up!” Kiyoshi yelled, “you made me mess up my line!”

“At least I didn’t almost run over a student on their first day!”

“Well, at least I don’t eat tomatoes raw out of the fridge!”

“We all know they taste better that way!”

“Do not!”

“Do too!”

“Anyways,” Edward explained, “we’re going to drive you to the ice cream place first. We understand you probably can barely move after all of that but know that you will have to find your own ways home.”

Everyone hopped into the car ecstatic ready for a cool bowl of refreshing soft-serve ice cream. That is... until they got into the car.

“I don’t think this car is equipped for eight people, is it?” Celio asked the drivers squished between all his classmates.

“No complaining or I’m throwing you out the window,” Kiyoshi shouted slamming on the gas. Everyone screamed as the car went berserk. The wheels screeched as they ran away from the trashed crime scene. Those who sat on the edge grabbed the bars on top hoping it would save their lives when they got into an accident. Almost certain they should’ve walked, Seraphina looked at the front to find the man in the passenger’s seat asleep.

“How the heck is this guy asleep?!” she exclaimed.

“Oh, Edward? He can sleep through the apocalypse,” Kiyoshi chuckled swerving through a four-way intersection. The traffic cop screamed as they grazed him with the taillights.

Skidding off the sidewalk, off the curb, and away from pedestrians, everyone was distressed and panicked while Edward was asleep.

“I don’t like how this is going!” Jayden yelled.

“We should’ve walked!” Matthias screamed.

“I should’ve just gone home!” Koa sobbed.

“I just want to live!” Ayden cried.

“Don’t doubt my driving skills!” Kiyoshi hollered to the back. He yanked the gear shift rapidly rotating the steering wheel. The screeching tires on the road started to scream causing those who could to cover their ears. Kiyoshi maniacally laughed as the car nearly collided with multiple things on the road until safely somehow landing a perfect parallel park.

With hair frazzled and eyes wide open, the children scurried out of the car.

“Um… Edward?” Ayden stuttered still shaken.

“Yes?” Edward yawned waking from his nap.

“I think Koa died. He hasn’t blinked in a while.”

Edward looked at the child who had frozen still.

“I’ve got this,” he assured the kids. He splashed the child with cold water which woke shocked him awake.

“Is—Is that allowed?” Ayden asked.

Koa mumbled, “Where am I—"

“Ice cream! Let’s go!” Matthias grabbed Koa’s arm and dragged him out.

“What are you getting?” Jayden asked everyone.

“Bubble-gum!” Matthias cheered.

“Strawberry cheesecake,” Eve stated.

“Vanilla,” Koa sputtered.

“Fudge,” Hikari answered.

“Rocky road,” Ayden grinned.

“Triple chocolate raspberry swirl,” Sera smiled.

Jayden turned to Celio. “What are you getting?”

Celio stood quiet. Everyone felt the tension as he hesitated to speak. He opened his mouth apprehensively in suspense having everyone on the edges of their seats.

“I…” he spoke, “am blind, so I can’t read the menu board.”

Everyone gasped and yelled, “What?!”

Celio chuckled, “I get that a lot.”

“Ho-how have you been navigating everything? What? Why? How?” Jayden bumbled.

“I sense things through hearing and touch which I developed, but I sometimes mess up and get clumsy when I’m tired.”

After receiving their orders, they sat down on a park bench. Their clothes were all filthy, their hair and bodies were scuffed and in disarray, but they beamed as they devoured their sweet frozen delighted desserts.

“What did you get?” Matthias asked Jayden who was visibly sweating.

“I got,” she panted, “wasabi chilli jalapeno with a dash of cayenne.”

“Is that even a flavour?!” Ayden exclaimed.

“Yeah,” she huffed with her tongue sticking out.

“Your nose is running, you’re visibly crying, and you are sweating buckets,” Eve remarked.

Everyone spent the rest of the day laughing and telling each other about themselves briefly before breaking off and going their separate ways.

As Sera walked home that night, she was ecstatic. After receiving the letter of acceptance, she was able to live on her own with government-subsidized money. She decided to rent something within her price range which left her with only a single room with a small mat on the floor for a bed and two electrical outlets. It had the bare essentials with a single gas stove burner and a small cabinet table. It was perfect. She had brought a few suitcases of belongings which just managed to fit in the room. Money that would’ve gone to her adoptive family now went straight to her giving her the funds to keep living. At last, she truly felt like she had freedom. Elated, she rushed and accidentally bumped into someone.

“Watch where you’re going,” Seraphina grunted.

“Right back at ya,” the man replied, “Honestly— wait. Seraphina?”

“Ayden?”

“What are you doing here?” he asked.

“I could say the same thing to you!” she replied. It might’ve been only been a few days since she moved in, but how did she manage to miss Ayden every time they were leaving or going?

“I live here,” he explained, “B127”

“I live in B128…”

“We’re neighbours?!” he exclaimed.

“Who do you live with here?” Seraphina asked.

“Ah, well, I actually live here by myself…” he answered.

“Did you know that Hikari lives here too?” he said to break the tension.

“Really?”

“Yeah, she lives on the third floor though.”

Seraphina knew that with every floor up, there were poorer people. Some on the third floor didn’t pay for electricity or plumbing. It was truly the slums of the city. The second floor had bare essentials to live by yourself which is why Sera and Ayden lived on that floor The first floor was capable of supporting a small family with usually a kitchen, some bedrooms, and a washroom depending on your financial status. There wasn’t an elevator which meant that everyone always had to use the stairs.

“Well, I’ll see you around neighbour!” Ayden waved going to his place.


	3. First Field Trips

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While academics are a must in any school setting, the students aren't prepared for the work that lies ahead of them which includes a field trip on the first day of class!
> 
> Upon the teachers' request, the students set out on a group project to help people in their community. However, things are not as they seem, and the reception isn't kind.

The next morning, Seraphina heard a loud banging knock on her door. She rolled over to her phone which read 6:03am. She grunted. Who would be this eager to see her this morning? She answered the door to see Ayden. She immediately slammed the door.

“Yo Sera! We’re going to class! Come on!”

She could tell it was Ayden. Why were they there so early? She grunted again spitting the icky taste in her mouth into the small sink. She slammed her hands onto the counter pulling out a piece of bread. She shoved it into her mouth not caring whether if it was warmly toasted. Her care was nonexistent. She got changed piling books into her backpack. She opened the door again to his face. How ugly it was. Everything was ugly in the morning, but his face was a sore to look at.

“Not a morning person I see…” he commented.

She didn’t feel like retorting to that statement. After all, it was the undeniable truth. Hikari was there beside him staring down at her book.

“I don’t think those comments will do you any good Ayden,” Hikari advised. “Good morning Sera. Sorry for waking you at dawn this morning. Ayden insisted that we all walk to school together this morning.”

“I did not!” Ayden denied, “I just know that you head to school around this time, and I’m awake too, and since Sera lives around here now...”

Seraphina didn’t give much thought to that comment. She finished chewing on her plain bread. It was dry since she hadn’t gone grocery shopping in a while, but she didn’t mind.

“So… uh… where did you guys go to school before this?” Ayden asked.

“I was homeschooled,” Sera answered.

Ayden sighed. He shut up after that. When they got to school, Hikari began tutoring. She tutored even if they were from regular outside schools, and occasionally there would be students older than them.

“I thought you went to school around the same time as me.” Seraphina said.

“Nope, I usually leave this early then wander the streets in the morning,” he answered, “I just go into the school around the time that you usually go in.”

Sera realized it was probably because he had nothing better to do. She guessed he just wanted to have someone to hang out with, and after figuring out that they all lived in the same area, he wanted to have some friends to walk to school with. But that’s why he always showed up to class by the time Sera was there. He was just loitering around town. Ayden seemed to be the type of person who would never admit to something despite showing signs of it.

“Welcome to the first day of class!” Kiyoshi announced to a sleepy humdrum class. Eve slipped off the table still taking her midmorning nap.

“That one takes after you, I see,” Kiyoshi hissed to Edward.

The class was set up in four morning periods which were English, math, science, and the last subject alternated between socials studies but mainly geography along with a free period.

“Why do I never understand any of this stuff?” Jayden whined leaning back in her seat which startled Eve who was taking a snooze on her literature textbook. She snapped awake quickly brushing the drool that she had dripped on her book.

“Yeah, I don’t understand this stuff either,” Celio said holding back laughter as he held his book in front of his face.

“It’s upside—” Ayden stopped himself mid-sentence. “Never mind.”

While academics in school was an expected evil, the first physical training class was not.

Kiyoshi rolled down his windows, “Get in losers. We’re going on a field trip.”

“Where?” Matthias asked excitedly. It seemed that she loved field trips being the bundle of joy and energy she was.

“I am not riding if you’re driving,” Ayden scoffed.

“I second that,” Koa croaked.

“We’ll get rid of the homework for today,” Edward yawned still in the midst of a snooze.

“I’m in!” Ayden shouted getting into the car. Clearly, he hadn’t been told to not get into strangers’ cars. Everyone shrugged and followed. Sure, they were afraid for their lives, but they had enough trust in their teachers that they would live to see another day… or so they hoped.

The wheels screeched across the road. Gripping the steering wheel, Kiyoshi hollered with laughter as the car began to spin out of control. He could feel the rush bursting through his body. He let go of the wheel. The car was twirling down the street making drivers and pedestrians alike fear for their lives.

“We’re almost there!” Kiyoshi yelled.

They slammed into a pile of garbage cans as the brakes slammed almost catapulting them. The car jerked halting just before they hit the house.

“We’re here!” Kiyoshi announced. The kids looked like they had been through hell and back. They loosened their bodies which had been stiff as stone and fingers which dug into the seat. Edward yawned as he awoke with great difficulty and fatigue.

“Let’s get started kiddies!” he called.

They exited the car onto the solid ground which always felt some sweet relief and bliss. They were all ready for their first day of manipulator training which happened to be… at a house?

“Welcome to my house!” Edward declared full of life and energy.

Bewildered and still shaken and nauseous from the car ride, they had a few questions.

“Why are we at your house?” Jayden asked.

“Your house looks gross…” Ayden muttered.

“Does the school even allow teachers to bring underage kids to their residences?” Hikari questioned.

“Quiet!” Kiyoshi commanded slamming authority down like a hammer. He cleared his throat. “Yes, the school does allow this since we are senior teachers who have gone through the system ourselves with the same practices and are acquainted with the headmaster. We are teaching you the exact same exercises as our past masters have taught us.”

“Can we get new teachers?” Ayden asked.

“Are you already tired of us?” Kiyoshi teased, “You can’t change teachers. So, if you don’t like us, tough cookies, you’re stuck with us.”

Edward used his water manipulation. He bent the flexible element with precision as he gathered up the brooms and put them in the hands of each of his students.

“What are we doing? Sweeping your house?” Ayden sarcastically scoffed.

“Exactly.” Edward happily answered from his hammock beneath a tree. “We’ll be supervising as you take part in some team building activities!”

The kids burst into a commotion.

“I did not sign up to be a housemaid!” Ayden complained.

“It’s too early for this,” Eve hissed.

“I do not vibe with this at all!” Jayden snapped.

“Sure, trust the blind dude to clean, that works,” Celio mumbled.

“I really don’t think this is a good idea,” Koa stammered.

“I think this is an abuse of power,” Seraphina argued.

“Shut up for a second!” Edward commanded their attention. “As Kiyoshi said, we went through the exact same training. You guys are no different from us. You will do the same training, or you will drop out. No exceptions. You are all twelve years old now. Stop your whining and get to work.”

These kids were in no position to refuse so they began to realize they had to comply.

“You will be sweeping the house top to bottom,” Kiyoshi explained, “it’s not that big since it’s just Edward’s house, and since he doesn’t have a girlfriend and probably will never have one, it only has one bedroom and one washroom.”

“I said I’m not getting a because they are a pain that I don’t want to put up with!” Edward retorted annoyed that the nap on his hammock was disturbed by a lame insult.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, as if you have a choice,” Kiyoshi chuckled.

“Why, do you have a girlfriend?” Ayden smirked.

“I, in fact, do,” Kiyoshi smiled catching Ayden off guard. He pulled out his phone showing the screensaver of him and a woman with dark brown hair with freckled cheeks and mocha-coloured eyes. Her teeth were crooked, yet her smile was stunning. She didn’t wear makeup, but she was sitting next to a beaming Kiyoshi whose demeanor was soft and gentle unlike anything those students have seen of their teacher so far.

“Her name is Amanda, and she is the greatest girl in the world. She likes my car rides unlike you people because she says it’s like an amusement part ride, she cooks, she’s smart, she works as a lawyer, and she’s so hot. I’d usually say that I’m a pretty handsome dude myself, but next to her, I almost look as ugly as Ayden.”

“Hey!” Ayden pouted.

The group continued inside to find a house with layers of dust centimetres thick, empty cups of ramen, piles of laundry, and the smell of death. Everyone stared with horror and disgust at the monstrosity that was Edward’s house. It had rotting food in a box, cupboards filled with just chicken cup ramen, and fruit flies buzzing everywhere.

As they dusted, mopped, and sorted the house, Edward walked in checking on them. “Hey kids!”

“Hey…” they all moaned unenthusiastically in response.

“Where’s Kiyoshi?” Matthias asked.

“Ah, he went to go meet up with the headmaster. You gotta pity the guy. Having your cousin as your boss—”

“The headmaster is Kiyoshi’s cousin?!” Ayden blurted.

“I still can’t believe Kiyoshi didn’t tell you, but his cousin’s name is Serene. She’s his dad’s sister’s daughter. She’s two years younger than Kiyoshi, and she’s in the mind faculty too except she was considered for the body faculty, and Kiyoshi was considered for the soul faculty. She’s an overachiever who is already headmaster while Kiyoshi… Kiyoshi likes to take life a bit slower.” He paused to inspect the room and smiled, “I think that’s enough for today folks. You’ve earned yourselves some good ol’ chicken ramen!”

Everyone declined the offer fearing that his food and cooking would match that of his cleanliness.

The next day was the same thing. The students studied academics in the morning then trained in the afternoon. However, that day, they returned back to Edward’s messy house. They weren’t expecting to return so soon, especially since they’d just cleaned it the previous day. The students were annoyed and infuriated that this would happen so soon.

“We just cleaned yesterday!” Seraphina blurted.

“Haven’t we done enough of your chores?” Eve sighed.

“I did not sign up for this,” Celio muttered.

“Yeah, sorry kids…” Edward explained, “you see, I sort of got drunk last night, and well… let’s just say we… or you all have a lot of work to do. The kids went up mops in hand and began cleaning. The toilet reeked of rotting vomit while the house emanated the odour of hard liquor. There were beer cans, vodka bottles, whiskey flasks, and sake containers piled to the brim of the sink.

“I can’t believe you got drunk again,” Kiyoshi chuckled, “on a weekday too. You aren’t even a stable drunk either.”

“Yeah…” Edward admitted, “I’m really not a good person as a drunk, but you know, it happens to the best of us. After all, cleaning will teach these kids teamwork, physical labour, and dedication—”

The kids simultaneously whipped their heads in his direction.

“Dedication?” Celio barked with his fists clenched.

“Physical labour?” Eve hissed.

“Teamwork?” Ayden screamed, “we’ll show you teamwork!”

Everyone surrounded Edward making sure there was nowhere to escape. Kiyoshi grinned liking where this was going. The kids ransacked him of all the money he had then grabbed the plastic wires from the booze cases wrapping it around his body.

Hikari cracked her emotionless façade. “Those who indulge too much and don’t work to fix their actions are the worst type of people!” Despite her small size, she was intimidating. Her eyes were lit with disgust and rage. Her face was consumed with brutal vicious malevolence. She grabbed a wine bottle motioning to the window. “Toss him out!” she ordered.

The group cheered as she opened the window which happened to be on the second storey. Beneath was only bushes with spiky ends.

“No! No! No! No! No! Please!” he begged, “I’m a good teacher, I swear! Come on guys, you wouldn’t toss me onto those bushes, right?”

The students glared at him then smiled. They dumped his body onto the thorny bushes. He yelped in despair unable to manipulate water since he was immobilized by the very twist ties for the drinks that got him into this mess in the first place.

The next day, things went as they usually did.

“And you would not believe what happened in the cartoon I was watching last night! New episodes are always so exciting!” Matthias rambled to Koa. Always full of energy, Matthias always had a new topic for a new day whether it was fashion, food, or TV shows.

“How are people like him so lively in the morning?” Ayden grumbled from his desk to Sera.

“I have no idea,” she responded.

“Did either of you eat breakfast?” Hikari asked.

“No.” They responded simultaneously.

Hikari tossed them granola bars that she received for free from her job.

“Good morning people,” Celio greeted. “As lively as ever, I see. Dude, wake up.”

Ayden leaned back in his seat and fell asleep until he was abruptly awoken and fell out of his chair. He got back in his seat and fell back asleep.

“I read the book you recommended me,” Sera was sleep-munching on her breakfast. “I think I stayed up too late reading it. It was good.”

“Glad you enjoyed it,” Hikari replied. “Ayden, aren’t you going to wake up yet?”

“I’ll wake up once the teachers show up! If Kiyoshi and Edward are going to be lazy, I can be too. Plus, I don’t see Eve and Jayden, so I’m better than them by being physically present.”

Jayden came in with Eve who was practically a zombie. Jayden handed Eve a peanut butter sandwich in hand as she lured the lethargic being to her seat.

“They’re here.” Sera poked Ayden.

The teachers walked into the room, but after their latest cleaning excursion, Edward was in rough shape; he slept for almost the entire day and was covered in bandages like a mummy although his face was mostly untouched. His eyes drooped more than usual, and his eyebags looked like they weighed more than boulders.

“Settle down class,” Kiyoshi ordered. The class sat in their seats. Eve was asleep. Jayden quickly tapped Eve on the shoulder who jerked awake annoyed at being interrupted.

“Edward and I have decided that you guys aren’t our slaves, so we will only clean once a week like our teachers did in the past. The BS that Edward said yesterday is in fact true. It is supposed to build up physical strength and teamwork, but it shouldn’t be enforced that it is to pick up stupid teachers who forget the fact that they are weak lightweights.” He elbowed Edward in one of his scars of which he made a weak yelp but didn’t fight back because he knew he was in the wrong.

“This morning we are going to be doing things a little differently. Your academics will be moved to the afternoon, but we aren’t doing any physical training today. Instead, I’m going to make an announcement!”

“Guys! Listen up!”

One teacher was vibrant standing at an old, damaged podium while the other was lying in a chair.

“We just came up with a brilliant idea!”

That was bad. Whenever he said he came up with a brilliant idea, it was usually a stupid one that only benefited himself. He was just that kind of guy.

“In order to boost our image, in order to boost our popularity, I’ve come up with a solution!”

“What is it? Just spit it out so we can reject it,” Ayden responded laying back in his chair.

The teacher looked pissed off and ready to spit. He cleared his throat. “We’re going to start taking request jobs!”

“That sounds like work. I’m out.” Eve murmured.

Kiyoshi snapped, and the makeshift podium lost another part of its leg.

“Can you guys just listen to me for five minutes without interrupting me with some snide comment or stupid remark! Every day, I have to hold myself back from punting you kids, and I hope you know that! I swear, if it weren’t for the rules and laws abiding my being and the punishment that would come, I would’ve done a home run with all of your guys!”

Ayden defiantly muttered, “Isn’t that baseba—”

The podium crumbled to the ground. Kiyoshi had a threatening aura around him. He sighed.

“As I was saying! I want this class to start taking jobs. Other classes that are older than you guys have missions, but you guys are… immature, untrained, lousy, unequipped, weak—”

“Just get to what you were going to say!”

“Oh! How the tables have turned. Luckily, I’m mature, unlike _some people_!” He scoured the room. “We’ll take jobs like saving cats from trees, catching purse-snatchers, solving small cases like that… you know, something that would make even buffoons like you guys useful.”

“Oh wow. How innovative. So how are you going to get clientele per se?” Ayden asked.

“I’m glad you asked, young man!” Kiyoshi grabbed some blank papers and slammed them down on his desk. “We’re doing some advertising! Hmm… we’ll call it Atticus Academy Assistors! Make your own posters then distribute.”

Sera grabbed a piece of paper, “Now that I think about it, this school has a really prestigious name for… uh…”

“A place that seems to constantly be in shambles and relying on child labour,” Ayden interjected.

“Government spending cuts really do a number on you, kids.” Kiyoshi chuckled, “This place… it used to be more than it is now… that’s for sure.”

The kids were hard at work making their posters.

“Man, I’m going to make the bestest poster ever!” Jayden was scribbling something in felt markers.

Kiyoshi walked by and sighed, “Um… you didn’t spell any of the three words right. It’s A-t- **t** -i- **c** -u-s A- **c** -a-d- **e** -m- **y** A- **s** -s-i-s-t- **o** -r-s.”

“I see spelling might be an issue here… and another one of you couldn’t spell it! Okay! I’m writing it on the board! We’re going to start teaching basic spelling starting next week!” He began mumbling to himself. Over to his side, he glanced at Celio feeling out his piece of paper.

“A… t… t… i…” he was sounding out the letters to himself and writing them, but all his letters were shaky.

“Hey, Celio, you don’t need to take part in this activity if you don’t want to.”

“I want to. I want to take part in any activity that my classmates do.”

“Okay, well, if you need help with the spelling, just ask. Also, you chose a white-coloured pencil.”

“What does that mean?”

“Oh, meaning you can’t see what’s on the paper. Here, use this.”

After all the posters were done, the kids were ready to distribute them to the general public.

“What are we supposed to do again?” Jayden asked.

“Hand out the posters, plaster them on posts, get the word out!” Kiyoshi instructed. “Now go!”

“Aren’t you coming with us?” Ayden asked.

“I have paperwork. You know, adult stuff. Responsibilities. You guys will be fine.”

The kids departed. Jayden and Eve were tasked with plastering posters on posts and windows while everyone else was tasked with handing the extra flyers out. But as they soon learned, their school wasn’t viewed as favourable.

Ayden pestered, “Hey there, are you looking for a group with child labourers who will do odd jobs?”

The man turned with a snarl and spat at Ayden’s feet and walked away.

Ayden was fuming as he tried running after the guy before being grabbed by Celio.

“Calm down! What do you think you’re doing?”

“Giving that guy a taste of karma with a kick to the jaw!” Ayden growled.

A little boy passed by holding his mother’s hand.

“Would you like to take one?” Celio asked.

“My mom says you guys are aggressive monsters!” The mother pulled her child away and started to walk faster.

There were numerous more instances of people not wanting to interact or acknowledge their presence.

“Do you think that’s going to help our reputation? They think we’re a bunch of crooks and criminals in the making. Like we aren’t even human.” Sera muttered.


	4. A Box of Surprises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A shorter chapter this time! I just wrote this yesterday.  
> Some explanations about manipulations and the first mission of the troupe.

The next morning had gone the same. A knock on the door, a lot of grunting and moaning from Sera’s unwilling morning self, and a lot of her dragging her feet. Ayden started to stay at the school in the mornings now. Although, she didn’t always know what he was up to since she went to class and fell asleep on her portion of the desk. She would always wake up in the mornings eventually after her mind started to settle in her dead tired brain.

When classes started that morning, they went slightly rougher than usual. Koa showed up on time most days, but that morning he was covered in a layer of dust. When asked what happened, he replied, “I was walking to school when suddenly I just fell into this ditch. It had a pile of leaves and sticks on top, but it wasn’t a natural hole. It was about my height and width. I was able to get out since luckily, I can manipulate earth, but I was really scared.”

“Maybe it was one of those adorable badgers!” Matthias squealed, “they have those cute little paws that love to dig, and oh my gosh I love them so much!”

“Well, I guess you can say whoever did that was an asshole who dug their own grave!” Ayden laughed.

Kiyoshi had been chugging on blueberry milk for the past few minutes when he slammed his fist on the table. He laughed, “Wasn’t that prank hilarious Koa? I thought it was hilarious because it was.”

The classroom existed in silence for a few moments after that. Each one of them had been pranked several times since entering Kiyoshi’s classroom. It was practically a fact of life existing in there.

Edward swirled in his office chair revealing a man of a blanket burrito, but he had his game face on. “Today, we have a real lesson that will be taught by us. It’s about manipulation. Prepare yourselves.”

“That’s really hard to take from a man who’s wrapped in a blanket,” Ayden chuckled.

Kiyoshi slammed down on the podium which was put up with duct tape. “In manipulation, there are five important key aspects that one must follow.”

“Oh. They are being serious,” Sera thought.

“That isn’t to say there aren’t more than that, but these are the main ones that we always have to keep in mind. In manipulation, you need: speed, power, stamina, accuracy, and flexibility. These are the foundations. What powers your manipulation is your energy. While we don’t know a lot about this, it’s important you try to develop some understanding as overuse can lead to consequences.”

“Consequences?” Koa shuddered.

“Yeah, it can be something minor like burns, frostbite, stiffness, and aching, but it can there is a chance that you can lose control, but alas, I don’t feel like getting into the negative stuff, so I’m gonna leave that.”

Everyone sat in silence. Nobody knew what to say. Nobody wanted to push into it any further.

“While there isn’t an official martial art for manipulation, many try to find their strengths and use a practice that reflects on that, especially since some work better from long ranges versus close combat. On top of that, there are elemental weapons that are formed using your own energy. While many of these things are innate, a lot of these things need to be practiced and honed which is supposed to be why you kids are here.”

The two teachers carried on a proper lecture which was odd for the both of them, and as the class carried on, they began to learn more about each other and their teachers, but unlike Edward, they’d never been and didn’t want to go to Kiyoshi’s house. An odd character, every morning when he would come to class, he would always have a jug of blueberry milk that he would finish by the end of the day. Edward always showed up sloppy and late. He resembled more of a tardy hobo rather than a teacher. Even after multiple lectures from the headmaster, like a kid who never learns his lesson, he was eternally challenged with the concept of time. He’d finish chugging his blueberry milk and would leave a thick pale blue ring around his mouth.

However, one day, the monotony of the classroom was broken when a girl burst into the classroom.

“Hello? Is this where those Atticus Assistors are?”

Kiyoshi’s eyes opened wide as he closed his lesson plan. “Our first customer! Guys! Move the desks and arrange the chairs! Matthias, get the cups! Hikari, go get some juice and tea from the staff room fridge!”

Everyone scrambled preparing for their first client.

“I found an animal in this cardboard box. I didn’t get a good look at the animal, but it sounded like it was in pain. I figured you guys would be able to help! Can you help me?”

“You… don’t even know what animal it is?” Ayden asked in disbelief.

“I think it was a dog with dark fur, but it might’ve been a cat.”

Seraphina shuddered. She was deathly allergic to cats.

Regardless, the kids couldn’t turn down the request.

“So, where’s the box?” Celio asked.

“Umm… was it on 22nd… or maybe 28th… on the corner of Fender… or what is Cambie…”

“Do you know any landmarks around the location?” Hikari asked.

“Umm… there were a street sign and a lamppost!”

Ayden slammed his hands on the desk, “Are you kidding me? This moron is pulling our le—” Celio grabbed Ayden, and Sera jump-slapped him.

“I swear! I’m telling the truth. Anyway, we need to go help it!”

The kids set out with the minimal information they had. Scouring several streets, the kids looked through every cardboard box.

“Ah! I remember now! It was in the alleyway of the Chinese restaurant!”

“Which Chinese restaurant?” Matthias asked.

“Uh… I don’t remember,” she chuckled.

“Do you remember anything?!” Ayden and Jayden yelled.

After another hour, the kids finally narrowed it down to the last Chinese restaurant.

“This is it. This is the last one,” Celio sighed. Everyone was exhausted, and after many run-ins with the staff of the restaurants along with street animals, the kids were ready to give up.

“Look! It’s the box!” Everyone went racing towards it.

“Stop!” Celio abruptly stopped, but it was too late. Everyone was in the line of fire. That animal was no dog. It wasn’t even a cat. It wasn’t even a raccoon that frequented the trash cans of the neighbourhood. It was a skunk who had just given birth. None of the students that day went unsprayed.

“You’re telling me that you had no idea it was a skunk?! A skunk in that box?! A skunk that can spray?!” Ayden growled.

“I had no idea! I swear, I thought it was a dog!” she yelled several feet away with her nose pinched. She herself wasn’t sprayed.

“How come we are the ones who suffered from this?” Sera snapped.

“I can’t believe I spent so much time just for this to happen…” Eve muttered.

“What has been done has been done. We need to get some hydrogen peroxide and soap from the store and call it a day,” Hikari sighed.

Jayden shuffled through her bag.

“My nose… I’m… dying…” Celio, who had a sensitive nose, was struggling to cope with the overstimulation.

“I… definitely don’t think skunks are cute anymore,” Matthias murmured.

Jayden pulled a bottle of hydrogen peroxide out of her bag. “Let’s go! I found the stuff Hikari asked for!”

“Why do you have that stuff in your bag?” Koa asked.

The students walked back to school but were nearly turned away by their teachers.

“No, no, no, you’re not taking a step into here!” Kiyoshi ordered with his nose pinched, “You guys reek of skunk! What happened?”

“That thing wasn’t a cat or a dog! It was a skunk!” Jayden cried.

“Let us in! You’re the ones who set us up to this!” Ayden demanded.

“We have the materials for cleaning, so we just need to clean our clothes and ourselves,” Hikari explained.

“Let us in!” Celio and Sera shouted.

After the kids barged their way in, they got through the process of cleaning themselves of the stench. Luckily, there were showers at the school. The headmaster questioned the teachers while they were washing off, and they returned to find the teachers with red handprints on their faces.

“Thank goodness Jayden had enough towels for everyone,” Sera smiled. Finally, everyone was cleared of the stench and wore their second sets of clothes.

“What do you keep in your bag?” Matthias asked.

“I think it’s better to ask what she _doesn’t_ have in her bag,” Eve replied.

One of the school’s unexplained mysteries was Jayden who, no matter the circumstances or situations, always had what was needed in her trusty backpack. Legend had it that the bag weighed more than she did, but due to her stalky stature and strength, she made it look like nothing. But much like her sunglasses, she was never seen without it on her person.

The next day, the students sat in their seats eating lunch discussing the previous day.

“At least we got something out of helping that girl identify that skunk,” Jayden laughed. The girl had dropped by and given flowers and chocolates for the students who had helped her that morning.

“Still not worth,” Ayden scoffed munching on chocolates.

“I think I’m going to pass on the next one.” Sera was also stuffing her mouth with chocolates.

“To be fair, nobody could’ve known that it was a skunk that had given birth. They usually give birth in May, so it was very premature,” Hikari explained. “But I agree. I never want to do that again. I had to wash my clothes twice.”

“I can’t believe I couldn’t identify what animal it was before it happened,” Celio sat in a slump. He felt a bit guilty that he couldn’t predict what happened since he had enhanced senses.

“Nah, I don’t think there’s anything that could’ve been done,” Ayden reassured his friend. “Don’t guilt yourself too much over that. Right, Eve?”

Eve was passed out.

“Umm… right, Koa?”

Koa wasn’t there. But there was a slam at the door.

“Another! Pitfall! Trap!” Koa huffed and puffed. Once again, Koa was pranked by their teacher.


End file.
